Taos Buell Rally 2008

Ok, so I'm a little late with my report from the motorcycle rally this past weekend in Taos, New Mexico. I literally had a blast: my Buell "Blast" motorcycle, and the fun I had riding it. My sister traveled late Friday night with me in my pickup with the Blast in the back. Since we got a late start nightfall came and obscured most of the scenery, but the next day I got to see quite a bit of the last 50 miles. I met for the first time the people I would be riding with at 0900 Saturday morning in front of the Sagebrush Inn where most of us stayed. Speaking of, the Sagebrush is a really cool old hotel built by local indian women in the early part of the twentieth century. Each room is very unique and built in the pueblo style. I highly recommend it for your lodging needs while in Taos.

Back to the riding. We left from the hotel that morning heading north to Questa where we would begin climbing into the mountains. The route is known as the Enchanted Loop and encompassed many different types of mountain and valley landscapes. The weather was perfect, too. I soon learned how underpowered my motorcycle is compared to the larger Buell bikes everyone else was on. Keeping up with everyone going up hill was difficult and I had to continuously shift down and up again. On long straight stretches I had to also lower my profile to reduce aero-drag. Going downhill I had to avoid breaking to conserve my momentum as much as possible. I quickly learned how to ride very fast through moutain curves and the experience was a lot like riding a roller coaster. I wore a grin from ear to ear all day long!

After a stop for lunch most of us continued on to Santa Fe to visit the local Harley/Buell dealer. While there a storm began to brew between Santa Fe and Taos. We had to decide a route that would take us around the storm if possible so we went back what is know as the "High Road" to Taos. The scenery along this road is beautiful, especially with the views to the west of the black and menacing storm that flashed streaks of lightning. We did encounter a small amount of rain for a few minutes but escaped the deluge that flooded out parts of the Santa Fe area where we had just left from. By the time we got back to the hotel it was 6:00 PM and I was exhausted. We all gathered later that evening for dinner at Doc Martin's, another old hotel in Taos.

We left Taos the next day and traveled back roads back home. Our first leg of the trip took us west across the Taos valley and the little ditch formed by the upper Rio Grande river(see picture). US Highway 285 heads north from here and takes one into Colorado and beyond. We stopped for dinner just across the border in Antonito, Colorado. Later, we passed through Monte Vista where Schall Chemical and Schall Iron Works can be found. As we continued north we were treated to spectacular views of the San Luis Valley and watched as storms brewed on both sides. The cross winds were gusting up to 40 mile per hour and made driving a little tricky. It wasn't long before we crossed Poncha Pass and entered into Salida where highway 50 intersects highway 285. From that point we were home in about an hour.

The people that I met and rode with were very nice and considerate - patient even - considering my lack of experience and underpowered motorcycle. I suppose most people would think of leather clad biker beasts when they imagine who attends a motorcycle rally, except for the Honda Goldwing crowd. Not so with the folks I rode with. Here is a link to some pictures that one of them took: New Mexico Storm Front

Jeff Grace Pikes Peak Hillclimb 2008 helmet-cam

Motorcycle Maintenance

One of the joys of owning a motorcycle is maintaining it. Really. They are much simpler machines than most cars and mine in particular makes use of some good old fashioned American engineering. I needed to change the air filter and spark plug on my 2006 Buell Blast so with the service manual on screen, parts and tools in hand, I set about it. Now one tool I didn't have prior to this was a torque wrench. Because of the aluminum heads on my bike it was strongly recommended to use such a wrench to prevent over tightening. So I got one.



The most unusual aspect of changing the spark plug was the need to move the gas tank to gain the best access. Overall that task was easy and I found a way to not have to drain the tank first. With the tank out of the way the top of the cylinder head is exposed for visual inspection. I did notice the PCV valve fit very loosely within the grommet. Apparently this is a minor issue and well known to other Buellers. I removed the spark plug and took pictures so that I could show others who can tell how well, or not so well, the engine is burning its fuel. I replaced the old plug with a brand new iridium plug.

I replaced the air filter with a K & N brand washable type. Installing it is very simple. Hopefully my engine will breathe a little easier as the old filter seemed pretty dirty. Atmospheric conditions here in Colorado mean filters can get clogged fast so having one that can be cleaned easily will save the money of buying multiple paper filters. Besides, I also got some K & N decals which prove just how cool I am, you know.

Grape Creek

Yesterday we took a short hike up the Tunnel Drive trail along the Arkansas River. By the time we reached the end we could see the rain heading down the river gorge towards and knew we couldn't stay long. But, thanks to another person pointing it out to us we did get to see the rare Big Horn Sheep. A group of about four were scaling the cliffs on the other side of the river from us. Needless to say, we got wet walking back.

After that we drove up Temple Canyon Road to Grape Creek. What a spectacular place! The mix between alpine and desert landscapes plays out in harmony along this creek and the land surrounding it. Fragrant sage and pinon pine fill the air as you walk along the creek. The hard, pink granite gets polished by the constant flow of water and keeps this creek from wandering to far off course. Apparently this creek is a favorite for trout fishing.

Nice day for a pickup truck ride

Tiffany, my sister, and her dog Sweetie wanted to go for a ride up Shelf Road today. There is a reason why they call it Shelf Road. I got gobs of pictures and a few short video segments, much more than I should post here. For a taste check these out:

Of course it should be obvious who that is in this first photo. Sweetie is really old for a dog but she still gets excited about being outside and she was very happy as you can see. The temperature was nearly 100 degrees so her tongue never rolled back into her mouth most of the day.

Experimental Mishap

There are big adventures and small ones, the other day I had a bit of the latter. It wasn't an intentional experiment but I decided to think of it that way as the consequences were small and I learned a lot. Once again I was very lucky.

So what happened? While riding my motorcycle through Big Horn Sheep Canyon on Highway 50 the rear tire went flat. I was about twenty miles west of Canon City and knew I needed to push on until I reached the small town of Cotopaxi. I had my cell phone with me but I soon found out how useless it was in this remote geographic area. All the more reason why it was a good decision to ride on to the small town before pulling over. Thankfully the tire did not blow out, but slowly lost air pressure so that I noticed it and was able to slow down and ride to Cotopoxi before it became completely useless.

I reached the small general store right before they closed at 6PM and asked if they sold fix-a-flat, and they did so I attempted to restore air pressure to the tire. Almost immediately the hole in the tire became obvious as the foamy contents I had pumped into the tire came shooting right out. Time to call my sister for a ride! Oops, no signal on my cell phone. Maybe if I walk around? Nope. Maybe if I climb up the side of the mountain? Nope. Fortunately, the store owner was still around working in the back and I was able to ask them to use their phone.

The next morning I had to drive back to Cotopaxi in my pickup truck to get the motorcycle. What lessons could I learn from this? First, I should have left my sister a note of where I was going and what time I should be back. She knew I was out riding but not where. Had she known she would have come looking for me and found me. The other lesson is that I need to carry tubeless tire repair kit. I have ordered one along with the new tire. The kit fits in a pocket and uses CO2 cartridges to provide air pressure after plugging any holes a tire may have. Simple and self contained.